Your Average Happy Family
by PoliceCommander
Summary: Sequel to Birthday Wish; After the l'Cie incident, everyone's getting used to their lives on Pulse. Multiple Pairings. Rated T for Safety.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I:

"Aren! Aren, look at daddy!"

"No!"

"He doesn't like you, Snow. Isn't that right?"

"I love Light!" the toddler giggled.

Lightning stuck her tongue out at him. "See? Your own son doesn't love you."

"But daddy's big and strong! Light's too...uh..." he noticed Lightning's narrowing gaze, "nice... and... pretty..."

"What are you two fighting about now...?" Serah sighed, walking into the living room from the kitchen. She'd become a common housewife, a fact that Lightning detested.

"Who Aren loves more" Snow chirped, welcoming a kiss from his wife.

Lightning scowled.

"Gee, I wonder" Serah blinked. "Hey, Claire, do you know when Hope's coming over?"

Lightning furrowed her brow. "Hope's coming over?"

"_Yes_. It's a family lunch!" Serah slapped her sister lightly on the arm.

"Then why is Snow here?" she smirked. Snow genuinely found it funny, and laughed his goofy laugh. "What about Sazh and Dajh?"

Serah shrugged. "Said they were going down to Mah'habara for the day."

"Tch. They won't last two seconds down there without me" Snow leaned back in his armchair.

Lightning raised her eyebrows, running her hands through Aren's blonde hair. "In the Mah'habara Subterra, Hope, Vanille and I took the lead. If I remember correctly, you just sulked your way through."

Serah started to giggle. Snow frowned. "I... don't remember that..."

"Really? I had to save you from a Pulsework Centurion. You were so dopey looking."

Serah's laughing intensified. Lightning smiled in satisfaction.

"I'm trying to make my son _like _me, sis..." he hung his head in embarrassment.

_Knock. Knock._

"Ah! There's Hope!" Serah grinned. "Claire, could you get the door?"

Lightning raised an eyebrow and gestured to the little boy on her lap. "You're standing up. Talk about lazy..."

"But you and Hope... Aren't you...?" Snow smirked, making his hands kiss each other.

"I also remember this one time when we were in Taejin's Tower—"

"Alright, alright! No more nostalgia trips, please!" Snow begged.

Lightning scooped Aren into her arms, earning a giggle from the boy. "You're getting heavy, squirt" she sighed.

"No, Light, you're just getting old" Snow grinned, pulling Serah by the hand to defend himself.

"...Whatever..." was all she said. Hope was probably confused by now, standing there all alone in the cold. She trotted down the corridor to the front door, and opened it, struggling to keep Aren upright. "Hey, Hope" she smiled.

"H-hey, Light! And Aren!" he laughed nervously.

She set Aren down on the floor, much to his dismay, and stretched her arms out. Hope complied, hugging her. He moved his hand up and down her back. "How've you been?" he asked with a slight laugh.

"I feel exactly the same as I did two days ago" she told him.

"O-oh, right."

"O-ho-ho! What have we here!? Light's showing..." they heard Snow say. He gasped dramatically. "...Love!" He chuckled and moved through the corridor to see the young man. "I never thought I'd see the day!"

"D-Don't make fun of her..." Hope mumbled when they parted. He crossed his arms. "Or do you want to face my boomerang, foul beast!?"

The two men laughed and shared a friendly embrace. "Let's go into the living room! Come on, Aren!" Snow beckoned. But Aren clung to Lightning's leg, gazing in terror at his father as they passed him.

"I...It was worth a try..."

**End of Chapter One!**

**I decided to do a sequel (this time a full-length story) to Birthday Wish, because I enjoyed writing the aftermath so much.**

**I hope you enjoy it ^^**

**Will update soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II:

"N-No! I want a replay!" Hope whined, shoulders hunched. He turned the control stick on the controller with his thumb in frustration. "My controller wasn't working!"

Snow laughed. "Nope! I won fair and square, kiddo! Admit it; you're just not very good at this game!"

Hope pouted. "You just lucked out. Let's go again!"

"Lunch is ready, guys. Turn the game off" Serah sighed with a smile, laying the last of the plates down on the table.

"Aww, but babe..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Don't call my sister that!"

Snow grinned and turned to her. "But I _can_, because _she _is _my _wife!"

"I can also punch you in the _face_. Because _I _am _your _sister-in-law."

"Guys! Food! Cold! Very hard work! All weekend!" Serah whispered harshly, pointing a firm finger at the food with every word.

"Right, right" Snow rose to his feet with a groan. "What are we eating again?"

Hope smiled and placed the controller down. He turned to look at Lightning who was arguing with Snow over who was sitting where. They'd been fighting an awful lot over nothing, but that was their way of getting along, he guessed.

He sighed in the most lovesick way, and, realising his bizarre behaviour, snapped out of it and scrambled to the table.

* * *

"This is delicious, Serah!" Hope admitted in awe, taking another mouthful.

Lightning stabbed at a lettuce leaf in frustration. "Thank you, Hope" Serah smiled.

"What else would you expect from the wife of a hero?" Snow grinned, his mouth full.

Serah frowned at him in disapproval. "Aren, eat some more, honey" she turned to her son.

Aren glanced at Lightning before shaking his head. "Light's not eating..." he muttered.

Lightning blinked. All eyes were on her now.

"Claire..." Serah whispered. "Eat something..."

The older Farron sighed and ate some of her salad. She widened her eyes when she swallowed. "Shit! This is great!" she shouted.

"Language, Claire!" Serah scolded.

"He'll learn it anyway if he's going to live in this house!"

* * *

Lightning sighed. Soon she'd have to go home, which was a shame, because she liked bothering Snow. Serah had suggested her moving in with them, but there was no way she would be the lame, single older sister who lived in her successful younger sister's basement... Or something like that...

But she wasn't _really _single, was she? She had Hope.

And speaking of Hope...

"Light? You okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, fine."

"You don't seem fine. You having trouble... at home, or something?" he sat down next to her, his head tipped to the side a little, similar to a confused puppy.

"Seriously, Hope, if there was a problem, I'd be coming to you first."

Hope smiled, as if he'd accomplished something mighty.

"You know, I really want to go to Oerba next weekend. Will you come with me? It's supposed to be really romantic and stuff these days, what with all of the Cie'th and monsters gone."

Lightning turned her head to look at him, and smiled. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Yeah, I'll go with you."

"G-good, because I really didn't want to be rejected..."

"Ooh~ what're you two lovebirds doing out here!?" Snow pushed the two further away from each other, making room for him to sit. "No making out on my property!"

Lightning furrowed her brow. "We're not... And I payed for it!"

Snow beamed. "Maybe so, but I live on it."

Hope grimaced.

"Come on, guys! Come on in, it's getting cold" Serah sighed from the doorway, untying her apron from behind.

Aren was gripping her leg, mumbling the alphabet under his breath.

Lightning turned back and smiled at him. "Come here, squirt" she laughed, arms outstretched. He beamed and was gladly picked up by his aunt. Lightning used Snow's head to help her get up. "Serah, I'm going to go home, 'kay?"

Serah pouted. "What? No! Stay over!"

"In this house? No way" she laughed.

Serah smiled weakly.

"Besides, I have to work tomorrow" she gave her younger sister a one-armed hug and put Aren down. "You be good for your mom, okay?" she said, tousling his hair.

"Yup!"

Snow furrowed his brow. "What about daddy?"

Silence.

Lightning finally walked over to Hope, who welcomed her into an embrace. "I'll see you next weekend, then" he blushed.

"Hopefully sooner than that, kid" Lightning flicked him affectionately on the forehead.

* * *

**Chapter Two.... END!**

**Now that the whole 'family lunch' thing is over, I can finally focus on expanding their lives past Serah and Snow's house :P**

**Have a good weekend!**

**Shall update shortly.**

**OMGSH I'm using the Document Editor *0***


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III:

Hope was humming. He had been all day.

He'd been so caught up with thinking about Lightning that he missed the entirety of today's lecture. That would cost him some marks. But, he didn't really care, not yet, at least. Every time he tried to be ashamed of himself, the thought of Lightning comforting him would drift back into his mind and he couldn't help feeling happy.

Just then, he felt a sudden jolt in his pocket.

He sighed in relief after he realised what it was and took out his phone. He checked the caller ID first before flipping it open.

"Hey, Light!" he sang, a little too enthusiastically.

"_Hey. You done with uni?_"

Hope smiled. "Yup. Just finished up. Why?"

"_Can you meet me? I just finished work. We can get something to eat or something_."

Hope's smile intensified. "O-of course, where do you want to meet?"

* * *

Hope tousled his own hair in an attempt to get it the way he wanted, but eventually he gave up. He slumped down onto the edge of the fountain and decided to just sit and wait.

He tapped his foot idly and sighed.

Scrunching up his face, he checked his phone for any messages. None. Which meant she was either running late or... she'd stood him up...

He swallowed the thought angrily.

She couldn't do that, Lightning was better than that. Wasn't she...?

"Hope, you alright?"

_Yes!_

He flicked his head up, only to see Lightning, in the flesh. She was leaning over, her face dangerously close to his. "Fine! I... just thought you weren't coming..."

Lightning smiled softly and straightened. "Come on, then. I'm here, aren't I?"

He nodded and hopped into a standing position. "Where to?"

"..."

Hope blinked. "Uh... Light?"

"...I didn't really plan past the whole 'meeting up' thing..." she uttered, scratching her head.

"O-oh" he laughed. He took her hand and smiled heartily. "Well, come on, then. I know this great cafe just outside of my university." He wasn't used to taking the lead; especially when it came to Lightning. But she just looked utter clueless, so he had to do something.

While they were walking, two young boys rushed past Lightning, knocking her half-way over.

"Boys! Ah... I'm so sorry, ma'am" their mother apologized.

"...It's alright..." Lightning muttered, mustering a smile.

The woman apologised once more before jogging after her boys.

Lightning snorted softly. "Stupid kids..."

Hope's heart sank a little. "You don't like kids?"

She turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "I love kids. I love Snow and Aren, don't I?"

"You love Snow?"

She laughed. "Well, yeah. He's my brother now, isn't he? Besides, the idiot's grown on me."

Hope sighed in relief. Noticing this, Lightning blinked.

"What, did you think...? Pfft!" she laughed. "As if I'd be in love with _Snow _of all people! Oh, Hope, if I ever do fall for that... ugh...make sure you shoot me."

Hope decided to play along and laughed as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV:

"So... how're your grades?"

"Really? We're talking about that now?"

They shared a hearty laughter. Hope sipped at his coffee in relief. He'd dodged that bullet. If Lightning knew that his grades were plummeting thanks to thoughts of her... There's no doubt she wouldn't go with him to Oerba.

"Hope... How've you been...? Without your mom, I know your relationship with your dad is... strained..."

Hope smiled. Lightning cared about him a lot, he could tell that much. "Things have been great. Dad and I are happy, we go see the grave we made mom together every week."

"That's good" she breathed, shivering as a cold breeze passed them. She clutched the warm mug and got a hold of herself. She was a soldier. Soldiers don't feel cold!

Hope raised his eyebrows. "You want my jacket?" he blushed.

Lightning chuckled under her breath. "No thanks. I'll endure."

He frowned. "But... you're cold. The girls in the movies always take the guy's jacket."

"I'm not a girl in a movie..." she blinked. She noticed his disheartened expression and sighed. "Come on, then. Just for you, I will be."

Hope immediately shook off his jacket and placed it over Lightning's shoulders, beaming. He felt like such a kid, but nevertheless, he was happy.

"...How about you...?"

"Huh?"

"How are you holding up...? Without Serah, I mean. You're living all alone now."

"Oh" was all she said.

Hope gazed into her eyes, awaiting a (hopefully) positive answer.

"As long as she's happy, I'm happy, right?" she muttered, managing to laugh a little.

Hope shrugged. "I don't know, Light."

* * *

Hope was at a loss. Lightning was unhappy, but why? Could it be him? Snow? Serah?

He clicked his pen so fast that it was starting to annoy the people on the other side of the room. "Hope!" his friend hisses from beside him. He stopped and turned his head.

"Yes?"

"Stop it!"

"...Stop what?"

She slapped her hand to her face. "The pen. It's driving me insane."

"Oh, right. Sor-ry" he sang, resting his chin on the desk. "Hey, you're a girl, right?"

"Last time I checked" she groaned.

"What makes you sad?"

She hesitated, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. "...Why...?"

"Because! Just tell me!"

"Alright, alright. Just, keep your voice down."

Hope smiled and nodded.

"A lot of things make me sad. Sad movies, puppies dying, onions..."

Hope tuned her out. She wasn't Lightning. No one was... except for Lightning.

"Never mind. I shouldn't have asked" he sighed.

She scoffed. "Geez, alright then. Maker knows why you don't get lonely without any friends" she joked.

_That's it!_

"Oh my... You're a genius!" he triumphantly grinned, hugging her half-heartedly, grabbing his books and running out of the library.

* * *

He tried dialling as fast as he could, but it wasn't working, so he tried to calm himself, pressing one button at a time.

_One ring... Two rings... Three..._

"_Hello?"_

"You're lonely!"

"_Hope? What...?"_

"That's why you're unhappy, right? You're lonely, all by yourself in that big empty house!" He brushed past a few people in the crowd.

"_Uh... Hope, I have work to do. Call me back later, okay?"_

"You're living in denial, Light!"

"_Whatever you say. See ya" _she chuckled.

Then she hung up.

He sat down on a nearby bench and smiled.

If Lightning was lonely, he'd have to fix that.

* * *

**And then there were four.**

**Enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V:

Lightning figured that she wasn't used to being alone anymore. Therefore, she couldn't have been lonely... right?

Maybe work wasn't the best place to think about it.

"Shit!" she grunted, narrowly avoiding a bullet.

"Oh, geez, sorry, sergeant!" the private laughed nervously, hiding the rifle behind his back.

"You new around here, soldier?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, ma'am, just enlisted. It's an honour, ma'am. All that time on Cocoon, I was thinkin' l'Cie were bad people, but gee did you prove all us folk wrong!" he laughed.

Lightning just nodded. "Sure... Welcome, I guess. And don't point that rifle of yours at any more officers, you got it?"

He grinned, saluted and nodded, all at the same time.

When he walked away, Lightning sighed.

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing._

She took her phone out. Hope, of course.

"Yes?"

"_Hey, Light. I need your help."_

"Hm? Is this about loneliness because—"

"_What? No. I'm done with that... for now. Anyway, I'm stranded. Could you pick me up?"_

"Stranded _where_?" she widened her eyes. "Hope, what happened?"

Hope sighed and tried to cover it up with nervous laughter. _"Well, you know how I was going to that party tonight...?"_

"Yeah, the college party, right? What happened?"

"_Well, we got kicked out by the guy's parents and... when I rang my dad to pick me up, we got into a fight and... well you put two and two together..."_

Lightning closed her eyes. "Where are you...?" Great. She'd be leaving work early, even though she'd practically begged for the night shift as well as her normal patrol.

"_Um... It's...Uh...Hey, where are we?" _he wasn't asking her, rather, an unknown character behind him, perhaps in front. So he wasn't alone, that was relieving.

"_Uh... downtown. The street sign says...Frances Avenue. It's the last house, can't miss it. Please come!"_

Lightning smiled. Hope always did that to her; no matter how shitty she felt about herself, Hope could always cheer her up with his boyish charm.

"Sure, I'll be there soon."

* * *

Hope tapped his foot on the pavement to a familiar beat, leaning against the fence and whistling.

"Geez, could you be any more annoying?" his male friend sighed.

"Huh? Sorry" he smiled. "How're you getting home?"

"Girlfriend's picking me up. You?"

Same? He didn't really know. Was Lightning his girlfriend? They hadn't kissed or anything, but they were kind of going out...

"Lightning" was all he said with a smile.

"Your l'Cie buddy? I saw footage of you and her four years ago. Looks like she really tried to protect you that time in Palumpolum."

"...Yeah. She's great."

His friend grinned. "Do you think you could set me up?"

Hope pushed him to the ground, laughing. "She's mine!"

Both were laughing uncontrollably at this stage, earning the eyes of a few of the other stranded university students.

"Hope. Come on." He spun around.

"Light? You came!" he grinned, hugging her. She furrowed her brow and brushed him off of her.

"Right... Come on, let's go."

* * *

Lightning had parked a considerable way from where the party was, but Hope didn't question it.

He looked over to Lightning and smiled. Her eyes were fixed on the road, as they should have been, considering she was driving.

"Light, you're pretty" he blurted out.

She furrowed her brow and glanced at him briefly. "Are you drunk?"

He turned bright red. "What? No! It's true, you're really... amazing looking and stuff! Hey, are you my girlfriend?"

"Yep. You're drunk."

He groaned and slammed his head on the dash board. "Because I love you and then you're all like being cool and stuff and I'm just like... UGH!"

Lightning chuckled lightly. "It's okay to admit it. Drinking is fine."

Hope mumbled something unrecognisable, then, "But I only had two beers. I'm _not _drunk!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Light... Can I sleep at your house tonight?"

She braked. It was a good thing they weren't on the highway.

"W-what?"

"I said 'can I sleep at your place'. My dad's probably still super mad at me." He turned his head on the dash board to look at her.

"Uh... Sure..."

Hope smiled. "Good..._Girlfriend_" he giggled.

"When did I say you can call me that?" Lightning sighed, accelerating slowly again.

He pouted, and she saw from the corner of her eye.

"Fine. But don't make a habit of it."

He grinned in triumph. "Light?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to fix that loneliness of yours. I promise."

"Sure, Hope. Whatever you say."

* * *

**And so there you have it. Chapter... Five, was it?**

**I'm writing this in the kitchen :3**

**I just made myself a cup of tea, and for once, I put the sugar in **_**after **_**the water, and it MAKES THE COOLEST SOUND!!!**

**Anyway, I'm going to have to take a break. It's my birthday on Monday, which means I'm going to have to squeeze everything from spending time with my brother and sister to studying for my Italian Half-Yearly in this weekend. Blarg, why didn't I just drop out last year =_=**

**So yeah. Have a great weekend and enjoy yourselves!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"...No..."

"_Please?_"

"_Couch, Hope. __**Now**__._"

Hope pouted and yawned, seemingly at the same time. Lightning rolled her eyes. She _definitely _wasn't having a tipsy Hope in bed with her.

"I won't do _anything_. Swear it on my life!" Hope whined.

"You're acting like a child..." she sighed.

He smirked and straightened, half-embracing her before kissing her passionately. "Would a kid do that?"

She raised an eyebrow. He hadn't done anything like that before... even if he was a little out of it... it was strange. Before she could say anything, he kissed her again, this time, she kissed him back after a while.

"Hope..." she moaned softly. "What..."

He hushed her. "I'm not drunk. This is me. This is me trying to fill that void of yours. Don't avoid it, please."

There it was. That subject again, the subject that always seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I don't want to talk about this again. It's ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Or is someone in denial?" he teased in a sing-song voice.

She averted her eyes and cleared her throat. "That's not funny."

Hope laughed softly and pulled her into a warm embrace. "I know... And when I take you to Oerba tomorrow, I'm not even going to bring it up anymore."

Lightning snorted. "Why's that?"

He whispered into her ear slowly. "_You'll see._.."

"Should I be worried?"

"Not at all" he laughed. "Just let me sleep in your bed tonight."

She sighed and pulled away from his grasp.

* * *

**Oh my. Almost a month since my last update and I submit this crappy little filler. I've got sooo many exams coming up and the added writer's block. I'm going to do what i did with 'Flashback' and ask for requests. Seriously. Now.**

**Have a great weekend and don't stress yourself!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A year ago, they'd built a railway line to Oerba due to its popularity. Travelling by foot or other vehicle was too dangerous those days, what with the monsters both air and land based lurking the planet.

Hope was grateful. No doubt he'd get lost if they had to walk. And with their L'Cie powers gone, they couldn't fight off any of the monsters… well _he _couldn't, at least.

Lightning was sitting opposite him in their booth, staring out the window as the scenery flew past. Hope gazed at her, taking in her beauty for a second before she noticed.

"What're you looking at?" she mumbled, eyes fixed on the glass.

Hope laughed nervously. "Nothing…Hey, I'm sorry about last night. I guess I was a little drunk after all."

She smiled. "I know."

There was silence for a while between them. Hope was trying to find something- _anything_- to say to her. But everything he thought of would only work on a normal girl. _Not _Lightning.

"You know," she started form out of the blue. Hope raised his eyebrows and leant towards her in his seat. "Maybe all that stuff you said…about me being lonely…maybe that's a little true" she said.

He was about to reply, but she added, "But I'm not anymore. Not with you around. You always seem to make me happy. It's sort of weird."

Hope smiled. He placed his hand on her thigh. He blushed and held his breath when she placed her own hand on top of his. Things seemed so much easier when drunk…

"I'm glad" he whispered. He leaned in slowly to kiss her. Their first kiss (not counting the night before)…

Lightning leant in a little too.

But just as their lips were about to touch, the train came to an abrupt stop, throwing both adults into their seats.

Lightning rubbed her head. "They really need to get that fixed…"

Hope nodded, obviously frustrated. "Yeah… They can expect a strongly worded letter from me…"

Both laughed.

"_Attention all passengers, we have arrived at Oerba. Repeat, we have arrived at Oerba. Please enjoy your stay."_

Hope made Lightning hold his hand, so she "wouldn't get lost". When they got off the train platform, they gazed at Oerba, which had formerly been a L'Cie graveyard, now transformed into a lover's paradise. Hope caught sight of a few families as well, most of them young, some children with grandparents. He looked to Lightning to point out the changes, but she was staring at one of the huts, which thankfully they had not disturbed.

"I wonder if Bhakti is still there" he laughed.

"Yeah…Hopefully he is."

Hope snaked his arm around her waist. "Come on, let's go over there."

Despite feeling like nostalgia had hit her in the head, Lightning had a considerable amount of fun with Hope. He made her feel at ease- it was almost like he could sense when she was unhappy, when she was feeling uneasy and when she felt uncomfortable. And he was more than eager to change that.

When the sun was ready to go down, many visitors sat and watched as the sky turned from orange, to pink, to finally dark blue, as the sun disappeared on the horizon.

Hope and Lightning sat on the roots of an old tree and watched. A Cie'th once paced around the trunk of this tree, and on one occasion, Hope, Lightning and Fang fought it, bringing its melancholy reign over the old tree to an end.

Lightning sighed.

"I wonder what they're doing right now…What they're feeling…" Hope thought aloud, gazing at the vague outline of the crystallised Cocoon.

Lightning looked at him, taking his hand as he had taken hers throughout the day.

He met her gaze and smiled heartily.

This was his second chance. After his failed attempt on the train, he was nervous as ever. He raised a trembling hand to cup her face, resting his forehead on hers, before their lips crushed together.

It wasn't his first kiss, but it was the first kiss that really mattered.

"I love you, Light…" he whispered in her ear.

She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. "Yeah…"

It was dark when they got back to the city.

Street lamps lit their way as they walked back to Lightning's home hand-in-hand.

Lightning closed the door behind them. "You should talk to your dad about going home, you know. He's probably worried."

Hope slumped down on the couch, pulling the blanket from the previous night over himself. He groaned. "I don't care. He can worry if he wants" he muttered. "I'm happy here. With you."

She sat on the couch armrest. "And I'm more than happy to have you here, but you've got to sort things out with your dad. He cares about you more than anything in the world."

He scowled and sat up. "I'll…call him in the morning, okay? I will… But I don't know if I want to go home… It just doesn't feel right…Doesn't feel like home."

She ran her fingers through his silver hair.

"Why don't you sleep on it?" she suggested, half-smiling.

Hope nodded. "Sounds good."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

In the middle of the night, Hope had snuck into bed with her. When she woke up, she found him spooning her cutely, and virtually pushed him off. He woke as soon as he hit the ground. He had it coming though, so he didn't complain.

"Hello, dad? Yeah, it's Hope."

Lightning could hear everything he was saying from the living room. She tried not to eavesdrop, but even the television couldn't drown out the sound of his voice.

"_Hope? Oh thank goodness, I was so worried. Listen, I'm sorry about the other night. I was stressed about work, you know? I'm just glad—" _

"Dad, it's alright. I'm sorry too" Hope interrupted him, sighing.

"_Where have you been staying? Not a dingy motel, I would hope" _Bartholomew muttered. Hope could tell he was tired; either from staying up all night working, all staying up all night worrying.

"Lightning let me stay at her place" Hope stated, obviously not satisfied with the apology…or the conversation as a whole. He would've been happy to stay at Lightning's the rest of his life; forget about his dad and live happily with her.

"_Oh, that's good."_

Lightning sighed. She leant back on the couch and closed her eyes, hoping that somehow she'd fall asleep.

"Light?" Hope poked his head around the kitchen.

"Hm?" she opened an eye.

"My dad wants to talk to you."

* * *

"Yeah, he's been fine. No problems at all. Homesick…? Uh…I'll be honest with you, Bart, he really seems to resent the idea of going back home."

Lightning rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Stay here…? I guess he could… But…Yeah, alright… I'll see you later…Yeah, goodbye…"

After hanging up the phone, Lightning turned to see Hope, who was sitting on the kitchen bench top. She rubbed her temples. "Your dad said you can stay here for a while."

He started to grin.

"_But_, this is still my house. What I say goes, alright?" she muttered, trying to stifle a laugh. "But…uh, welcome home, I guess."

He jumped off the bench, throwing his arms around her.

"This is great!" he chuckled.

She smiled slightly, returning the hug. "Sure is."

* * *

**A/N**

Short chapter. Just wanted to get that out of the way. Haven't written in ages so. It'll get better...I swear... *cry*


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX (Nine):**

**

* * *

**

The sudden ringing of the doorbell caught Hope off guard. He snapped out of his dream-world and flicked his head towards to the door, sluggishly getting up.

Lightning had already beaten him there, though. She sighed and shook her head.

"Sit back down, I've got it" she muttered.

He did as she said, smiling.

Lightning opened the door to an overexcited toddler and his exhausted mother.

Serah was holding Aren's hand as he bounced up and down, a lollipop in the other hand.

"Light! I went to the tooth fairy!" he sang, flinging both arms around her legs.

She smiled, patting his head lovingly. "Yeah? Exciting, isn't it?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "She gave me this!" he showed her the lolly. He suddenly spotted Hope on the couch behind her. "Hope! Hope! I went to the tooth fairy!" he skipped over to the older boy's side.

Lightning looked up at Serah. "Oh my. You look horrible" she stated bluntly.

Serah frowned. "Well _sorry _I can't have your fabulous life! Have some kids and then try telling me that! Geez, Claire, give me some space!" she shouted.

The older sister raised an eyebrow, stepping back a little. "Alright, alright. Come in, you should take a load off for a little while…"

Serah exhaled, slumping into Lightning's arms. "Thank you…"

She stumbled off into the kitchen. Lightning closed the door behind her.

Hope, surprised at overhearing Lightning's usually sweet sister act that way, looked at Lightning, brow furrowed.

She shrugged and followed her sister into the kitchen.

"Sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea" Lightning breathed, watching Serah's fight to keep her eyes open.

"Thanks… I'm sorry, it's just… Well, Snow and I are trying for another baby and…"

"Too much information, thanks."

"…Well, it's just really stressful. Thinking about it, pregnancy was so much work… I didn't sleep at all last night!"

Lightning cleared her throat. "R-Right… Well…"

Hope entered the kitchen with Aren in his arms. "What's going on?" he asked, setting the boy down on one of the stools.

Lightning shook her head. "Nothing. Serah just needs a little rest."

Hope smiled at Serah and hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ah, Hope. I heard you're going to live here. That's great!" she assumed her usual sweet nature again, much to her sister's surprise. It was strange how she could swing from lovable and cute to whiny and fiery.

"Yeah, isn't it?"

Aren widened his eyes. "Hope's gonna live here! Not fair!"

Lightning smiled. "Why not, little man?"

"I wanna live with Light…Hope's lucky…"

Hope grinned, tousling Aren's dark blonde hair. "You got that right! Luckiest guy in the whole world!" He flashed a smile at Lightning, who returned it.

Serah raised her eyebrows. "So you guys are...together...right?" she whispered to Lightning.

**X-X-X-X**

"Okay. I have to go to work pretty early tomorrow, so you can let yourself out, I guess. So, unless you need something, that's it" Lightning gestured towards the spare room bed, which would now be Hope's.

Just as she was about to leave, Hope grabbed her hand. "Wait, that's it? No goodnight kiss or anything? And why do we have to sleep in separate beds, anyway? You know I won't do anything unless you want me to."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Maybe one day. But not tonight, alright? I'm going through a stressful time at work, so I just need some room to breathe right now, okay?"

Hope pouted, releasing her from his grip.

She smiled weakly, kissing him softly. "Good night, Hope."

* * *

**Gettin' into the ZONE again. I'll make sure to write more and more now that internet is no longer a problem :P**

**I love writing Aren, he's such a character xP**

**Enjoy**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

Lightning was fuming by the time she got back from work.

Hope had gotten home early that day as a result of a cancelled lecture and had spent the hours until Lightning's arrival watching cooking shows on TV and contemplating what to make for dinner.

He was turning into a model housewife.

When his disgruntled lover almost burst through the door and into the kitchen without saying a word to him, he knew immediately that something was up.

When he peered through the doorway, he found her sitting at the table in the centre of the room, pouring herself a full glass of wine and sculling it down.

She winced when she felt the acidity of the liquid running down her throat.

"Bad day?" Hope asked sheepishly, placing a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"Ugh… You could say that… I swear, that idiot commandant should just…go jump of a bridge or some shit like that. I don't even care anymore" she groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Hope leant down to kiss the bottom of her neck.

She raised her head in response, turning her body to face him as best as she could.

"…Hope…" she muttered under her breath.

He embraced her tenderly.

"I love you" he whispered in her ear.

She sighed a little, all her anger seemingly fading away.

"Yeah…me too…"

He kissed her softly. "Claire…" he spoke.

She chuckled. "Since when did you call me that?"

"Hm… I just thought I'd try it out."


End file.
